Ploughshares Literary Journal
@pshares.bsky.social
The award-winning literary journal based at Emerson College. Publishing established and emerging writers since 1971. mtr.bio/pshares
Why venture out into the cold when you can stay in and read our Winter 2025-26 issue? Grab your copy today: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
January 29, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Why venture out into the cold when you can stay in and read our Winter 2025-26 issue? Grab your copy today: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
"In the age of objects so many things stored energy and light: a saddle burnished by oil and sweat; wooden spoons singed velvety black."
Read Lia Purpura's piece, "In the Age of Objects: A Primer," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3Zy0Zvt
Read Lia Purpura's piece, "In the Age of Objects: A Primer," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3Zy0Zvt
January 27, 2026 at 5:18 PM
"In the age of objects so many things stored energy and light: a saddle burnished by oil and sweat; wooden spoons singed velvety black."
Read Lia Purpura's piece, "In the Age of Objects: A Primer," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3Zy0Zvt
Read Lia Purpura's piece, "In the Age of Objects: A Primer," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3Zy0Zvt
This week we celebrated the launch of our Winter 2025-26 issue with readings from contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe! Thank you to our friends at Trident Booksellers & Café for hosting us, and to our staff and community members for supporting 🎉
January 24, 2026 at 5:12 PM
This week we celebrated the launch of our Winter 2025-26 issue with readings from contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe! Thank you to our friends at Trident Booksellers & Café for hosting us, and to our staff and community members for supporting 🎉
Get a head start on your reading goal with our Winter 2025-26 issue, featuring poetry and prose by Alice Hoffman, Victoria Chang, Maggie Dietz, Jennifer Martelli, and more. Don’t wait to get your copy: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
January 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Get a head start on your reading goal with our Winter 2025-26 issue, featuring poetry and prose by Alice Hoffman, Victoria Chang, Maggie Dietz, Jennifer Martelli, and more. Don’t wait to get your copy: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
Are you in the Boston area? Join us for a celebration of our Winter 2025-26 issue at Trident Booksellers tomorrow, January 21st, at 6 pm! This reading will feature Winter 2025-26 contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe. Register for free: https://bit.ly/3NgLVzD
January 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Are you in the Boston area? Join us for a celebration of our Winter 2025-26 issue at Trident Booksellers tomorrow, January 21st, at 6 pm! This reading will feature Winter 2025-26 contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe. Register for free: https://bit.ly/3NgLVzD
"You / remind me, the Coke is the context for the having. / It is important."
Read Dujie Tahat's poem, "I Did Not Know, When I First Said I Love You, I Was Thinking About Thinking," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/4jD9leH
Read Dujie Tahat's poem, "I Did Not Know, When I First Said I Love You, I Was Thinking About Thinking," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/4jD9leH
January 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM
"You / remind me, the Coke is the context for the having. / It is important."
Read Dujie Tahat's poem, "I Did Not Know, When I First Said I Love You, I Was Thinking About Thinking," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/4jD9leH
Read Dujie Tahat's poem, "I Did Not Know, When I First Said I Love You, I Was Thinking About Thinking," in the Winter 2025-26 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/4jD9leH
You and our Winter 2025-26 issue go together like January and a sweater. Grab your copy and get cozy: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
January 18, 2026 at 5:09 PM
You and our Winter 2025-26 issue go together like January and a sweater. Grab your copy and get cozy: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
Ploughshares is pleased to present Olufunke Grace Bankole with the annual John C. Zacharis First Book Award for her novel, The Edge of Water (Tin House, 2025)! This year’s judge was Jamil Jan Kochai, author of 99 Nights in Logar (Viking, 2019) & winner of the 2021 John C. Zacharis First Book Award.
January 15, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Ploughshares is pleased to present Olufunke Grace Bankole with the annual John C. Zacharis First Book Award for her novel, The Edge of Water (Tin House, 2025)! This year’s judge was Jamil Jan Kochai, author of 99 Nights in Logar (Viking, 2019) & winner of the 2021 John C. Zacharis First Book Award.
Happy New Year! Resolve to read our Winter 2025-26 issue, out today and featuring poetry and prose from Alice Hoffman, Victoria Chang, Jennifer Martelli, and more! Start reading: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
January 14, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Happy New Year! Resolve to read our Winter 2025-26 issue, out today and featuring poetry and prose from Alice Hoffman, Victoria Chang, Jennifer Martelli, and more! Start reading: https://pshares.org/product/winter-2025-26/
There’s still time to apply for the Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices from @lambdaliterary.org! Take your chance at finding a community of queer writers and workshopping your manuscript. Apply by January 15: https://bit.ly/48cM1iy
#LLWritersRetreat
#LLWritersRetreat
January 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM
There’s still time to apply for the Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices from @lambdaliterary.org! Take your chance at finding a community of queer writers and workshopping your manuscript. Apply by January 15: https://bit.ly/48cM1iy
#LLWritersRetreat
#LLWritersRetreat
Our Fall 2025 issue is still here for your new year reading! Grab your copy today and enjoy longform prose by Juliana Lamy, Eric McMillan, Youssef Rakha, and more: https://pshr.us/fall25
January 10, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Our Fall 2025 issue is still here for your new year reading! Grab your copy today and enjoy longform prose by Juliana Lamy, Eric McMillan, Youssef Rakha, and more: https://pshr.us/fall25
One week left on our hat sale! Through January 15, buy a Ploughshares subscription and receive a discounted Emerging Writer hat & free entry to our Emerging Writers’ Contest. Click https://pshr.us/ewcbundle, or add a subscription & Emerging Writer hat to your cart and enter coupon code EWCBUNDLE25!
January 8, 2026 at 5:30 PM
One week left on our hat sale! Through January 15, buy a Ploughshares subscription and receive a discounted Emerging Writer hat & free entry to our Emerging Writers’ Contest. Click https://pshr.us/ewcbundle, or add a subscription & Emerging Writer hat to your cart and enter coupon code EWCBUNDLE25!
"We all work with death, don't we? Mindy, you, me. All in our different ways."
Read Ian Stansel's story, "O Holy Night," in the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/45p0xD3
Read Ian Stansel's story, "O Holy Night," in the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/45p0xD3
January 6, 2026 at 5:41 PM
"We all work with death, don't we? Mindy, you, me. All in our different ways."
Read Ian Stansel's story, "O Holy Night," in the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/45p0xD3
Read Ian Stansel's story, "O Holy Night," in the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/45p0xD3
Don’t miss out on any new releases this year! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with recently published stories, poems, and more. https://pshr.us/2w9Dg5w
January 4, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Don’t miss out on any new releases this year! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with recently published stories, poems, and more. https://pshr.us/2w9Dg5w
In celebration of our upcoming Winter 2025-26 issue, we're having a release reading! Join us at Trident Booksellers in Boston on January 21st, at 6 pm, for a reading from Winter 2025-26 contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe. Register here: https://bit.ly/45p2CPn
January 3, 2026 at 5:01 PM
In celebration of our upcoming Winter 2025-26 issue, we're having a release reading! Join us at Trident Booksellers in Boston on January 21st, at 6 pm, for a reading from Winter 2025-26 contributors Alice Hoffman, Maggie Dietz, Shara McCallum, and Bridget Lowe. Register here: https://bit.ly/45p2CPn
Ready to be discovered? Submit your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest between February 1 and March 31. Winners receive $2,000, publication in Ploughshares, and a conversation with the literary agency Aevitas Creative Management! Find out more: https://pshr.us/ewc26
January 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Ready to be discovered? Submit your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest between February 1 and March 31. Winners receive $2,000, publication in Ploughshares, and a conversation with the literary agency Aevitas Creative Management! Find out more: https://pshr.us/ewc26
"But over Patrick's shoulder and beyond the beam of the headlights was the blackest night Yvonne had ever known, and the great and lonely wilderness."
Read Mary Winsor's story, "Dasvidaniya," from the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/4933aeY
Read Mary Winsor's story, "Dasvidaniya," from the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/4933aeY
December 31, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"But over Patrick's shoulder and beyond the beam of the headlights was the blackest night Yvonne had ever known, and the great and lonely wilderness."
Read Mary Winsor's story, "Dasvidaniya," from the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/4933aeY
Read Mary Winsor's story, "Dasvidaniya," from the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/4933aeY
Invest in an emerging writer this holiday season! Until January 15, grab a Ploughshares gift subscription and get our Emerging Writer hat and free entry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest. Add a subscription & hat to your cart and use discount code EWCBUNDLE25, or order here: https://pshr.us/ewcbundle
December 29, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Invest in an emerging writer this holiday season! Until January 15, grab a Ploughshares gift subscription and get our Emerging Writer hat and free entry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest. Add a subscription & hat to your cart and use discount code EWCBUNDLE25, or order here: https://pshr.us/ewcbundle
We are proud to present our nominations for the Pushcart Prize! Read the nominated pieces in print or online with a Ploughshares subscription: https://bit.ly/4q0LXdl
December 27, 2025 at 5:02 PM
We are proud to present our nominations for the Pushcart Prize! Read the nominated pieces in print or online with a Ploughshares subscription: https://bit.ly/4q0LXdl
"We all work with death, don't we? Mindy, you, me. All in our different ways."
Read Ian Stansel's story "O Holy Night" from the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/3MHnCdT
Read Ian Stansel's story "O Holy Night" from the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/3MHnCdT
December 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM
"We all work with death, don't we? Mindy, you, me. All in our different ways."
Read Ian Stansel's story "O Holy Night" from the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/3MHnCdT
Read Ian Stansel's story "O Holy Night" from the Winter 2023-24 issue of Ploughshares, free this week! https://bit.ly/3MHnCdT
Now through January 15, purchase a one-year print & digital Ploughshares subscription and receive one of our Emerging Writer hats and free entry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest! Add a subscription and hat to your cart and use discount code EWCBUNDLE25, or click https://pshr.us/ewcbundle to order.
December 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Now through January 15, purchase a one-year print & digital Ploughshares subscription and receive one of our Emerging Writer hats and free entry to the Emerging Writers’ Contest! Add a subscription and hat to your cart and use discount code EWCBUNDLE25, or click https://pshr.us/ewcbundle to order.
We're pleased to announce our nominations for Orison Books' Best Spiritual Literature Anthology! Read the nominated pieces in print or online with a Ploughshares subscription: https://bit.ly/4q0LXdl
December 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
We're pleased to announce our nominations for Orison Books' Best Spiritual Literature Anthology! Read the nominated pieces in print or online with a Ploughshares subscription: https://bit.ly/4q0LXdl
"Cursing in Kréyol especially, because there's something about swearing in the first language you could sing in that chains it down as of your blood."
Read Juliana Lamy's story, "My Country Full of Thieves," in the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3KYwCKY
Read Juliana Lamy's story, "My Country Full of Thieves," in the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3KYwCKY
December 22, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"Cursing in Kréyol especially, because there's something about swearing in the first language you could sing in that chains it down as of your blood."
Read Juliana Lamy's story, "My Country Full of Thieves," in the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3KYwCKY
Read Juliana Lamy's story, "My Country Full of Thieves," in the Fall 2025 issue of Ploughshares! https://bit.ly/3KYwCKY
Calling all book lovers! We're looking for influencers who are interested in reviewing our quarterly issues on their Instagram accounts. Apply for the program today: https://pshr.us/influencers
December 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Calling all book lovers! We're looking for influencers who are interested in reviewing our quarterly issues on their Instagram accounts. Apply for the program today: https://pshr.us/influencers